8 Tips to battle winter blues in your child

3 to 7 years

Created by Chayanika Sen
Updated on Dec 06, 2017

Winters literally mean shorter days and colder temperatures. This necessitates the requirement for spending more time indoors curbing the time spent outdoor by your child. This may lead to increased crying, fatigue or lesser activity levels, tendency to sleep more and difficulties in waking up in the morning, change in appetite and difficulty in concentrating. At times these winter blues also lead to a state of depression in growing children. Hence battling winter blues in children becomes essential from parents' perspective.

What Are Winter Blues?

Winter blues, simply put, is a case of seasonal affective disorder, which affects almost 80 percent of the children as well as adults.

How Can I Help My Child To Get Rid Of Winter Blues?

Here are a few tips, which enable parents in fighting winter woes have been discussed below.

Environment full of activities:It is best to have an activity filled ambience at home. Playing fast numbers, dancing with kids, exercising with them and playing running games in the limited space at home can be of great help. Children can also be involved in interesting activities liked rope skipping, push ups and yoga. These activities keep a child active and act as a vent to all the pent up energy within them. It is believed that physical activities and exercises increase the quantum of serotonin in the brain and improves a child's moods

Exposure to sunlight:Winters may restrict the time spent by children outdoors. However it is best to allow them to play and run in the sun as long as possible. Fresh air and sunlight can be very comforting for a growing child and can help him recover from his lows. Light therapy works wonders in battling winter blues. It is best to open up all the curtains and shades in the house and allow as much sunlight to come in. Making a growing child sit in a place where he gets direct sunlight for at least ten minutes a day can be extremely fruitful

Engage in interesting indoor activities: Board games, art and craft activities, reading out stories can be very fascinating for children. The best way to fight winter blues is to keep the child's mind engaged in constructive activities such that he finds them interesting and easy to concentrate. Keeping them busy in simple house hold chores would also be an alternative. Though watching television should be restricted for young children, spending time with them watching their favourite cartoons and television shows for limited spans can be refreshing and rejuvenating for children

Fun-activities & socialising:Spending time at home with children also helps them overcome their bad moods. Playing with them, dancing with them, reading out stories to them is a lot beneficial for their mental upkeep. Small social gatherings may be arranged where the child could meet different people, interact with other children and find new means to keep himself occupied. It should be noted that it is most important to spend time with positive people. Child classes specialising in indoor activities like lego, drawing and painting can also be preferred

Maintaining a healthy diet and proper intake of supplements:Consumption of healthy fruits and vegetables keep a child going. Intake a proper balanced diet is essential to keep his body and mind fresh. Supporting his upkeep with dosage of supplements of Vitamin D is also important. In absence of sufficient exposure to sunshine, Vitamin D supplement is of extreme importance. Topping up his daily diet with foods like milk, yogurt, fish, eggs and cereals which are rich in Vitamin D would also be of extreme use

Dressing up children in bright colours:Bright colours can bring about a lot of positivity and optimism in the environment. At a time when children get irritated because of being dressed in multi layered clothing, it is best to dress them in their choice of clothes. Making them wear colourful attires with their favourite characters can make them feel excited and happy. Winter blues become a lot easier to battle with happy hormones flowing freely in young children

Ensure sufficient relaxation and sleep: It is important for children to sleep well. A fall in the activity level combined with weather changes may impact their sleep adversely. It thus becomes inevitable to ensure the child gets enough rest and sleeps well. Sleep deprivation is directly linked to poor moods and irritability in children. Playing soft music to put the child to rest can also be practiced

Medication: SAD or Seasonal Affective disorder is a condition when depression sets in. Conditions prevalent during winters along with the accompanying restrictions can lead children to undergo the worst of seasonal woes in the form of SAD. It is best to seek medical help in such scenarios. Parents should support their children by walking with them through this phase. Such situations should be handled with extreme patience and parents should ensure that the child undergoes the complete medical procedure suggested by the medical advisor

We hope that these tips will help you battle the winter blues in your child with some ease.

Did you like the blog on how tips to battle winter blues in your child? Share your views and feedback in the comments section below as we would love to hear from you and how do you help your child in battling the winter blues in your child.

I completely agree as winters sets in it leads to winters blues and affects not only one's mood but also lifestyle. to keep it on track it's important to chalk out ways and think of activities which would keep children active. amazing suggestions ! thanks for sharing!